Wow! What an Opportunity for a Bushland Retreat and a Role in Conservation for you, and your family and friends

- Bungonia NSW

All the ground work is done. You can put in as much or as little as you wish. Put your feet up, birdwatch.
Checking the camera traps is always fun, just like Christmas seeing what’s on them.

Have you been searching for a conservation property, or wondering how you could do your bit to preserve and promote Australian flora and fauna? Here is a rare opportunity for your own bushland escape. If of interest you can learn and manage from expert’s advice and systems who over 5 years have transformed this piece of Australian bushland heaven. Their work has been rewarded and recognised with a Biodiversity Conservation covenant to protect it for all time.

The current owner is an Aboriginal Australian who learned about the benefits and believes in the value covenanting; that the animals and plants don’t care whether their habitat is private or public. They just need it to be safe. And with national parks increasingly under-funded, resources for conservation on public land are limited.

Here is your chance to privately own Nature, known as “Wombat Ridge Nature Reserve”. Perfect for your group or extended family ownership to meet a variety of interests, skills and passions. It is a Walk-in/Walk-out sale where you will have all you need to continue the conservation work and enjoy all the features of the property.

It is 50 hectares (123.55 acres) of predominantly inland Scribbly gum and Brittle gum low woodland, Silvertop ash and Blue leaved stringy-bark open forest, and Broad leaved peppermint and Red stringy-bark grassy open forest on undulating hills.

Bird and animal watching; conservation practices, traditional burning and land management. Camera traps show all the wildlife busy at night.

Protection of habitat for threatened woodland birds including the Gang Gang and Glossy Black Cockatoos, Regent Honeyeater, Brown Treecreeper, Speckled Warbler, Flame Robin and Diamond Firetail.

In early 2023, an endangered Gang-Gang Cockatoo nest box installation program commenced providing additional breeding sites, engaging the community in conservation, and providing scientific data to inform conservation management.

An integrated weed management program is underway and close to completion to eliminate weeds present along the creek line and in a small area adjoining the neighbour’s property.

In 2022 koalas arrived and additional feeding habitat was planted for them.

The cultural burning stimulates the natural ecology, reduces fuel loads and catastrophic bushfire risks, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

A cute cabin with covered camp kitchen, campsite and water tank are in place. The cabin has one queen sized bed and camper trailer also has one queen sized bed. There are 2 carports.

A low impact, well designed eco dwelling could be considered. You may prefer to remain rustic and build a farm shed with kitchen, toilets, sleeping areas and deck for the working bees that will be undertaken.

For conservation properties under Biodiversity Conservation Trust of NSW (BCT) covenants, there is a domestic zone which allows for a few hectares of human disturbance and clearing – approximately 2ha (5 acres) for this property, less than 5% of the land. It is possible to renegotiate this with the BCT if needs be.

As well as their caring for country culture and experience as an Aboriginal Australian, the current owner was Australia’s first-appointed Threatened Species Commissioner, and has an existing role as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the University of Canberra’s Centre for Applied Ecology. They have based their conservation efforts on these strong connections to the scientific and Landcare communities. You know you will be taking over from the best with excellent supporting documentation and resources. Re-contouring of erosion sites, assisted and natural regeneration, weed and pest control has all been done. 380 locally endemic trees have been planted, and dead wood on country as a conservation management tool is also being utilised in multiple sites.

Here is a list of the documents available for you to review:

1. Wombat Ridge Conservation Management Plan
2. Inclusions list of plant and equipment to manage the property (all included in sale price)
3. Wombat Ridge Native Mammal Guide
4. Wombat Ridge Native Plant Guide
5. Wombat Ridge Bird List
6. Wombat Ridge Cultural Burning Principles – 2022
7. Wombat Ridge Fire Management Plan – 2023 to 2024
8. Wombat Ridge Site Values Report from BCT NSW
9. Wombat Ridge Conservation Agreement with BCT NSW

The current owner will provide transition support and ongoing support and training for you. Examples are:

: What funding is available and how to access it
: Cultural burning programs
: Conservation management and monitoring

Key environmental features of Wombat Ridge Nature Reserve Conservation Area identified by the BCT include:
• South East Dry Sclerophyll Forests, Southern Tableland Dry Sclerophyll Forests and Southern Tablelands Grassy Woodlands providing potential nesting, breeding and / or foraging habitat for a diversity of threatened fauna species known to occur within the region, including the woodland birds Regent Honeyeater (Anthochaera Phrygia), Brown Treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus victoriae), Speckled Warbler (Chthonicola sagittate), Flame Robin (Petroica phoenicea) and Diamond Firetail (Stagonopleura guttata)
• Approximately 450m of riparian vegetation and frontage to Sawpit Gully Creek.
• Low cover of weeds.

The ecology is in revival. Wombat Ridge is protected in perpetuity through the covenant. Australia faces a biodiversity crisis. Securing and protecting habitat for wildlife we can all do our bit to turn that around.

What a wonderful opportunity for you to be the next landowners and custodians of this safe haven for Australian flora and fauna.